Meanwhile, Hughes said ahead of the trip to St Mary's: "Our record there isn't great. But in recent times we've gone down there and got a decent draw I seem to remember. We want to go there, play well and get maximum points. We've got that capability. Our last performance against Chelsea was very good, so confidence-wise we are in a good place to go to somewhere where we haven't done well over the years."
Hughes isn't exaggerating when he says Stoke's record away at Southampton isn't great. The Potters have never won at St Mary's, with their last away win over Southampton coming during the 1980-81 season, when the Saints were still based at The Dell. Their last six trips to St Mary's have resulted in four defeats and two draws, with an early goal from Sadio Mane handing Southampton the win at St Mary's last season.
Stoke sit 12th in the table heading into this match, but victory could be enough to lift the visitors up to ninth in the table this afternoon. Southampton are just outside the European places in seventh, with three points enough to move them up to fifth this afternoon.
With just under half an hour until kickoff, why not check out what the
Sports Mole On The Sofa team had to say about this fixture:
This is one of six fixtures in the Premier League kicking off at 3pm. If you want to follow any of the other games you find links to all of our live commentaries
here, as well as details of Manchester United's injury-time win over Watford in the early kickoff.
Here are the visitors arriving at St Mary's a little earlier:
Both of these two sides have a League Cup quarter-final to look forward to in the next couple of weeks, with Southampton facing Liverpool in the last eight after beating Aston Villa earlier this month, while another win over Chelsea set Stoke up for a quarter-final clash with Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.
In case you missed the announcement yesterday, all Premier League fixtures will play the French National Anthem, Le Marseillaise, ahead of kickoff this afternoon as a show of solidarity following the attacks in Paris last Friday.
REFEREE WATCH! Lee Mason takes charge of this fixture, which will be the first time that he has refereed Southampton this season, and his second game in the middle for Stoke, having overseen their 2-1 win over Bournemouth in September. Mason has handed out just one red card in his 11 matches so far this season, dismissing Gareth Barry in Everton's 2-1 defeat to Arsenal last month.
PREDICTION! The players should be making their way out of the tunnel in the next couple of minutes, so there's just time for a quick prediction. Both sides have been playing well in their last couple of matches, but Southampton have always gone well against Stoke at home. It will probably be a close one, but I can see the Saints clinching this 2-1.
The teams make their way out ready for kickoff:
After a couple of moments to reflect on the attacks in France, the players line up ready for the action to get underway in front of a packed crowd at St Mary's.
KICKOFF! The hosts get the action underway.
The home side dominate possession int he opening couple of minutes, passing the ball around the back while trying to find a way forward to Pelle, but the visitors block his path, allowing Wollscheid to fire the ball forward with a pass intended for Walters, but Fonte clears.
Pieters, who is playing despite breaking his nose in two places in the win over Chelsea, picks out Arnautovic with a ball down the left, but Southampton have numbers back to prevent the visitors creating an early opening. Both sides look keen to get involved early on at St Mary's, and it's been a fairly open encounter so far.
CHANCE! Tadic and Steven Davis pass the ball around on the left flank before the former tries to cross the ball in looking for Pelle. Clasie manages to flick it back in from a throw in, setting up Tadic for the host. It looks like he's beaten Butland, but the finishing touch is a fraction wide.
CHANCE! Just a couple of minutes after Tadic almost opens the scoring for the home side, Stoke have their first shot down the other end. Arnautovic tries to work his way in from the middle, but his effort is blocked, while a weak shot from Bojan Krkis is straight at the keeper.
GOAL! Southampton 0-1 Stoke City (Bojan Krkic)
It's a clinical finish from
Bojan Krkic to give the visitors the lead at St Mary's.
Erik Pieters comes out from the back to cross the ball in from near the left corner flag. His delivery takes a slight deflection on the way in, but it still finds it's target, leaving Bojan to slice the ball in at the near post.
Stoke are on the charge again, with Arnautovic cutting the ball inside for Shaqiri, who is still looking for his first goal at Stoke. The Swiss international's looping finish from the edge of the box is somewhat lacking though, as it ends up going well high of the crossbar.
A sudden break from the home side allows Clasie to thread the ball through to Pelle, but the Italian just loses out to Wollscheid, who wins the ball back for Stoke and launches the visitors on the counter-attack, but Cedric Soares is back to block the ball into the box down the other end. Although it's Stoke who lead, neither side have really taken charge of this match yet, with the teams splitting possession pretty evenly so far.
CHANCE! Maarten Stekelenburg makes a brilliant reaction save to stop the visitors doubling their lead, as Arnautovic sprints down the right before crossing in for Shaqiri. His first touch sets him up nicely, and he tries to rifle it into the bottom right corner, but the Southampton keeper does just enough to turn it around the post.
Pieters has to scramble the ball clear as a high ball in from Tadic falls to Pelle, but Wollscheid just does enough to stop the Italian getting his shot away, although the striker did look to the referee for a penalty because of the defender's physical approach. Lee Mason wasn't interested though.
Shaqiri gives away a free kick in a promising position for Southampton. Steven Davis lines it up, curling it in towards Fonte, who is unmarked in the six-yard box, but the defender can't keep his header down.
Stoke are starting to look the stronger of the two sides, with Arnautovic and Bojan proving a lively pairing through the middle. They work the ball forward, with the scorer of the opening goal cutting the ball back for the arriving Jonathan Walters, but the Republic of Ireland international's finish is wide.
Southampton force a corner, which Davis curls in from the left. The initial delivery is cleared, but only as far as Jordy Clasie, but his half-volley from just inside the box is comfortably wide.
There's a big let off for
Jose Fonte as he slips while marking Bojan, leaving the goal-scorer free to run at the Southampton goal before trying to find Walters, but the striker was flagged for offside. The visitors quickly win it back, but Bojan loses his footing in the penalty area.
Southampton are starting to pose more of a threat again, with Soares getting forward to look for Pelle, before Tadic eventually works it in for Steven Davis, but but the Northern Irishman hesitates, unsure whether to take the shot on himself or square it to Pelle, and ends up doing neither, leaving Butland to claim the wayward pass.
CHANCE! Southampton have another free kick, which Davis blasts into the box. Butland comes off his line to claim it, but spills the ball. Victor Wanyama tries to get on the end of the loose ball, but ends up clattering into the keeper and conceding a goal kick. Stoke swiftly press down the other end though and force a corner.
Stoke take the corner deep, looking for Whelan to slot the ball back in for Bojan, but Tadic intercepts the ball and races down the other end, but he waits too long to take his shot, leaving himself with a tight angle, and he can't squeeze it past Butland.
Southampton are still looking for the equaliser as half time approaches, with Tadic crossing the ball back in from a corner. It comes out to Soares, but the defender's first-time shot goes high into the stand behind the goal.
Fonte tries to play the ball over the top to Shane Long, who has been quiet in the first half, but it's a poor ball from the defender, which goes straight out for a throw in. There's a delay though as Bojan has caught Cedric Soares in the face, leaving the defender with blood pouring from above his eye.
The Southampton medical team are trying to patch Soares up. The cut is just below his eyebrow, where he suffered a similar injury against Swansea a few weeks ago, so it could be an old wound that's opened up. Arnautovic is getting a bit irritates, as Soares is being treated on the pitch, preventing the match from getting back underway, but the referee steps in to calm him down.
Soares is bandaged up and comes back on. The fourth official initially indicated that there would be two minutes of stoppage time, but most of that had already been used by the time the action got back underway, so there could be a bit more to come.
HALF TIME: Southampton 0-1 Stoke City
The players head into half time with only the early goal from Bojan Krkic separating the two sides. Stoke had a couple of decent opportunities to extend their lead, but survived a strong finish to the half from the hosts.
Despite being a goal down, Southampton edged the possession in the opening 45 minutes with 55%. They also had more chances with nine to Stoke's seven, but
Jack Butland is yet to have to make a save, while three of Stoke's efforts were on target.
Here are some more pictures from the first half courtesy of Stoke's Twitter account:
Southampton have plenty of options on the bench if they feel the need to make changes after the break, including Sadio Mane, James Ward-Prowse and Juanmi, who are all capable of getting the goal back for the Saints.
The players are starting to make their way back out for the second half.
RESTART! Stoke get the second half underway at St Mary's.
CHANCE! Stoke have an opportunity to double their lead just moments into the second half as Arnautovic makes a run into the box, but opts to pass to Shaqiri rather than go for goal himself. The summer signing gets his finish all wrong though, slicing it well over from the edge of the six-yard box. Incidentally, both sides are unchanged from the first half.
Shaqiri looks determined to open his Stoke account this afternoon as he tries to capitalise on a poor clearance from Van Dijk, but his 20-yard drive curls away from goal. Southampton have been sloppy at the start of this second half, and
Ronald Koeman is fuming on the sideline.
Bojan makes a run from midfield, breaking into the box before trying to wait for Walters to arrive, but Fonte manages to take the ball away from him. Stoke look really determined to get a second on the board at the start of this second half.
Southampton suddenly break down the other end, with Wanyama picking out Tadic with a through ball, but the midfielder's finish is mis-hit, going out the other side for Shane Long to control, but he can't get it back in for Pelle.
CHANCE! Southampton have been much better in the last couple of minutes, but a lazy shot from Tadic from the edge of the box leaves Butland with an easy save.
Tadic slips past Glen Johnson to whip the ball in from near the left corner, but Wollscheid is there to nod it away before Pelle can get his head to the ball. The home side have really upped the intensity in the last couple of minutes, but Stoke are defending well. Meanwhile, Sadio Mane is still wearing his tracksuit and coat, so it doesn't look like he'll be coming on any time soon.
Pelle flicks the ball back to Davis on the edge of the penalty area, but he's tripped, giving the home side a free kick in a dangerous area. Van Dijk takes it, having shown off his free kick skills at Celtic last season, but Southampton can't make the most of his delivery.
Southampton continue to bear down on the Stoke goal, with Long making a run forward before crossing in towards Pelle, but Butland is there again to claim it. He's certainly been kept a lot busier in the second half than he was before the break.
CHANCE! Victor Wanyama isn't known as a goalscorer, but he unleashes a curling 20-yard drive, which just misses the right post, although it looked like the diving Butland would have had it covered if it had been on target.
SUB! Southampton are making the first change of the afternoon, and it's Sadio Mane coming on for Jordy Clasie. Mane scored the winner when these two sides met at St Mary's last season, but he does come in after picking up a knock while on international duty.
SUB! Stoke are making a change too, as Xherdan Shaqiri makes way for
Ibrahim Afellay.
The home supporters want a penalty, although there's no appeal from the players, as Long takes a tumble under pressure from Arnautovic, but it looks like the Southampton man leaned into the Stoke player rather than the other way around.
CHANCE! Sadio Mane gets involved for the first time, picking up a ball in from Long to try to slot the ball into the bottom right corner, but Butland makes a diving save to keep it out, and he holds it with Long following the ball in looking for the rebound.
SUB! Stoke make their second change, with USA international Geoff Cameron taking the place of Bojan Krkic.
SUB! There's another change for the home side too as James Ward-Prowse replaces Steven Davis.
Stoke look content to defend for the remainder of the match, as they get numbers behind the ball as Mane and Pelle try to make their way forward again, but the home side leave themselves vulnerable to a counter-attack, with Afellay trying to make a break down the right, only to fire well wide.
Johnson and Wollscheid continue to come under pressure as Southampton pile forward again. Tadic unleashes a shot from the edge of the box, but Pieters manages to turn it behind for a corner, leaving himself limping as a result.
CHANCE! Johnson quickly deals with the corner and breaks down the other end before playing a superb ball forward for Arnautovic, but he's on his weaker left foot, and blasts it wide.
BOOKING! Ward-Prowse has only been on a few minutes, but the England Under-21 captain is the first player to pick up a yellow card this afternoon as he catches Charlie Adam late.
CHANCE! Southampton come close again as Ward-Prowse delivers a brilliant ball in from a free kick, but Tadic's header is just high. The home side quickly win the ball back and try to create another chance, but Afellay is in the right place at the right time to block the cross.
CHANCE! Johnson has been really lively at both ends for Stoke this afternoon, and he almost sets up a second for the visitors as they break back down towards the Southampton goal, with the defender squaring the ball in for Charlie Adam, but his drive from the edge of the box goes inches wide.
CHANCE! Stoke are clearly trying to finish with a flourish as Afellay gets forward again before trying to fire into the far corner, but he slices the finish a fraction wide. Southampton are living really dangerously.
PENALTY APPEAL! The home player are furious with Lee Mason as the referee appears to have missed a foul on
Graziano Pelle, who has his legs wiped out from underneath him by Wollscheid in the penalty area. Southampton are demanding a penalty, but the referee isn't convinced.
Stoke are still keen to add a second to put the win beyond doubt as Pieters makes a run down the left, before attempting to cross the ball in for Walters, but the striker is a step late arriving, leaving Stekelenburg to claim the ball.
SUB! It's a final roll of the dice from Koeman as striker Juanmi comes on for Cedric Soares.
SUB! Stoke make their final change, replacing Jon Walters with Mame Biram Diouf.
CHANCE! Mane has been quiet since coming off the bench, but he gets the ball on the edge of the penalty area before slipping it through for Pelle, but it's an impossibly tight angle for the striker, who smashes it into the side-netting.
CHANCE! It's end-to-end stuff at the moment as Stoke are quickly back down the other end, with Arnautovic cutting it back for Afellay, who has looked sharp since coming off the bench. He has only the keeper to beat, but is denied by a brilliant fingertip save from Stekelenburg.
Southampton have four minutes of stoppage time to try to find the elusive equaliser.
Mane is brought down by
Erik Pieters, handing the hosts a free kick out wide around 20 yards out. Tadic delivers it, but it's straight into the hands of Butland.
Tadic tries to cross the ball in from the left after a pass forward from Ward-Prowse, but Stoke have numbers back and make the clearance.
BOOKING! Graziano Pelle is penalised for kicking the ball away, and it's an expensive booking, as it's his fifth of the season, so he'll be suspended for their next match.
FULL TIME: Southampton 0-1 Stoke City
Stoke City secure their first away win over Southampton since 1980 thanks to an early strike from Bojan Krkic. Ronald Koeman won't be happy that Graziano Pelle wasn't awarded a penalty late on, but Stoke created the majority of the clear cut chances, and could probably have won by a larger margin.
The result moves Stoke into the top half of the table, while Southampton slip a place to eighth.
So, that's all from this match, but you can find details of all of this afternoon's results
here. Thanks for joining me this afternoon. Goodbye.
